Disposable hygiene articles, such as sanitary napkins and panty liners, are normally packaged individually in e.g. an easy wrap or a single wrap. Individual packages facilitate hygienic carrying of single articles for future use, e.g. in a handbag. The edges of the individual packages are often sealed by means of ultrasonic welding or heat welding. Further, the packaging units are often used both as a means for packaging an unused article and for disposal of the used article.
It is desirable that used articles of this kind can be disposed of discretely and hygienically. This may be particularly important when the user lacks the possibility to dispose of the used article immediately after the used article has been replaced, e.g. when there is no waste bin available in the toilet area. In this case, the user may need to put the used article in e.g. a handbag or backpack, which requires that the package is adequately sealed in order to avoid staining and odour.
One of the solutions addressing the disposal problem has been suggested in WO 2013/162430, describing a packaging unit being formed from a sheet having at least one folding axis dividing the sheet into a first region and a second region. The inner surface of the first region comprises an inner edge portion and an outer edge portion, wherein one of the portions is provided with adhesive, and the other of the portions is adhesive-free. Further, one of the inner and outer portions of the second region is either provided with adhesive or is adhesive-free in a complementary manner to the first region. Thus, when the sheet is folded about the folding axis, the edge portions carrying adhesive in the first region are brought in contact with the adhesive-free edge portions in the second region, and the edge portions carrying adhesive in the second region are brought in contact with the adhesive-free edge portions in the first region. The packaging unit disclosed in WO 2013/162430 has a first packaging function, wherein the packaging unit provides a tightly sealed package for a non-used article, and a second disposal function for hygienic keeping and disposing of the used hygiene article.
However, an average user may have difficulties in identifying the presence of a disposal function of a packaging unit. Failure to identify the disposal function of the packaging unit leads to incorrect, cumbersome and sometimes unsanitary disposal of a used hygiene article. It also leads to material waste, since the user may discard the packaging unit intended for disposal, and instead use some other material available to wrap the used article prior to disposal, such as toilet paper, a paper towel or a tissue.
Hence, there is a need for a packaging unit which can be used both for packaging a new hygiene article and for hygienic keeping and disposing of the used hygiene article, which is aesthetically appealing and which provides an easy and intuitive identification of the disposal function of the packaging unit.